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America Supports You: Group Holds Grief Workshops

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, May 22, 2007  A national support group that helps family members cope with the loss of a loved one in the armed forces is hosting a series of grief seminars and workshops here through the Memorial Day weekend.

The Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors’ 13th Annual National Good Grief Camp for Young Survivors will be held May 25-28 at the Double Tree Hotel in Arlington, Va., according to a TAPS news release.

Established in 1994, TAPS is a nonprofit organization that helps survivors cope and heal after their loss through a variety of programs that include a national peer-support network, crisis intervention care, grief and trauma resources, and a 24-hour hotline.

“The National Military Survivor Seminar and Good Grief Camp for Young Survivors provide a chance for surviving families to share with others facing similar losses and help one another discover that they are not alone on their grief journey,” Bonnie Carroll, TAPs chairman, stated in the release.

The organization’s Memorial Day weekend events and activities “are a special gathering where TAPS helps families remember the love held in their hearts, celebrate the lives they were blessed to know, and share the journey of grief to lessen their heartache and pain,” Carroll said.

This year, for the first time, TAPS has enlisted the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus, which will provide clown performers at the seminar to interact with children and teach them circus skills such as juggling and stilt walking.

Seminar participants also have the opportunity to attend the evening parade at the Marine Corps Barracks here on May 25 and eat lunch at the Fort Myer Dining Facility on May 26 as the Virginia Army post’s special guests.

TAPS seminar participants also can attend the National Symphony Concert at the U.S. Capitol the evening of May 27. On May 28, participants can attend morning Memorial Day observance ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery. Later on in the day, they can enjoy the National Memorial Day Parade held in downtown Washington.

TAPS is among the more than 250 individual and corporate partners of the Defense Department’s America Supports You program. America Supports You connects citizens and corporations with military members and their families serving at home and overseas.